Papeete

P3A1P3E1E1T1E1

proper noun

The capital city of French Polynesia.

OriginTahitian pape →
UncommonScrabble 11
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Meanings

proper noun

alternative Papeʻete

  1. The capital city of French Polynesia.

    Things did not turn out as he hoped. Having reached Tahiti in June 1891, he soon fled the island's Europeanized capital, Papeete, for the village of Mataiea, where he met Teha'amana, 14, who became his mistress and model.

    2003 October 14, Alan Riding, “The Colors of Paradise As Imagined by Gauguin”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

Origin

  1. Tahitianʻete“basket”
  2. Tahitianpape“water”
  3. EnglishPapeete

From Tahitian pape (“water”) + Tahitian ʻete (“basket”) (cognate with Māori kete, Niuean kato, 'Are'are kato, Hawaiian ʻeke (“sack”). This probably refers to the mountains condensing and collecting rain in the Papeete basin.

More words from Tahitian

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic بابيتي
  • بابيتي (Bābītī)capital city of French Polynesia
Dutch Papeete
  • Papeetecapital city of French Polynesia
French Papeete, Pape'ete
  • Papeetecapital city of French Polynesia
  • Pape'etecapital city of French Polynesia
Japanese パペーテ, パペエテ
  • パペーテ (Papēte)capital city of French Polynesia
  • パペエテ (Pape'ete)capital city of French Polynesia
Korean 파페에테
  • 파페에테 (Papeete)capital city of French Polynesia
Polish Papeete
  • Papeetecapital city of French Polynesia
Russian Папеэ́те
  • Папеэ́те (Papeétɛ)capital city of French Polynesia
Cite this entry
APA

Papeete. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Papeete

MLA

“Papeete.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Papeete. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Papeete,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Papeete.

Source: Papeete on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.